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How did your vacation go? What was hot and what was not. Have a special experience (now or in the past) you care to share?enTue, 20 Nov 2018 00:31:28 GMTvBulletin30http://www.intercot.com/discussion/images/misc/rss.pngINTERCOT Boards - Trip Reportshttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/
Epic (I hope) 24 hour+ WDW visithttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217819-Epic-(I-hope)-24-hour-WDW-visit&goto=newpost
Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:44:36 GMTGetting back from our October trip and seeing all the information about holiday happenings at WDW, I started plotting how to go to the world and not spend a lot of money (and I can’t take off work because we are short staffed at the moment).
I found a cheap airline ticket, had to book a room at...Getting back from our October trip and seeing all the information about holiday happenings at WDW, I started plotting how to go to the world and not spend a lot of money (and I can’t take off work because we are short staffed at the moment).

I found a cheap airline ticket, had to book a room at Holiday Inn in Disney Springs because no Disney hotels I could afford had a room for one night. I get off work Thursday night at 9pm. I fly to Orlando on a 6 am flight on a Friday then my flight home is 9 pm Saturday. I have to be at work Sunday morning at 10 am. I won’t have luggage, just a small backpack.

When I arrive I am going to take Mears to a park- probably ticket and transportation center so can decide Epcot or MK when I get there. I have an annual pass that expires on that Sunday so don’t have to worry about tickets.

My hopeful main objectives are:

See castle light up on Friday night at 6:15pm ( MVMCP that night so won’t be spending evening at MK). Go on Jingle Jungle cruise.

Epcot world showcase and a glimpse of Candlelight Processional and see Illuminations with special holiday ending.

After Illuminations go to Disney Springs and check out a few stores especially remodeled Disney Store and the Christmas tree walk. Figure I won’t leave DS until midnight. Is it safe to walk to Holiday Inn from DS? It says it is a 5 minute walk from bridge crossing over road. If not, where are UBER or taxis? I don’t want to walk all the way back to near Cirque Soleil☹️ Will check into hotel and sleep until 7 am then check out.

If I feel up to it, AK opens at 8am.

Want to get over to studios to see Toy Story holiday decorations. Frozen holiday version would be nice. Get back over to Epcot and see some World Showcase holiday entertainment and food.

Get a Mears from Epcot at 6 pm pickup for 9 pm flight.

Also want to go to Grand Floridian and Contemporary to see the gingerbread displays.

Hopefully my stars will align and no transportation delays or rain while at WDW. (Today Amtrak is suspended from this silly snow mess on east coast. Airline shuttle not running either.)

Send pixie dust for smooth sailing!
]]>Trip ReportsKatzateerhttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217819-Epic-(I-hope)-24-hour-WDW-visitWhat is this planning you speak of? Day 6http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217814-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-6&goto=newpost
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 07:56:53 GMTWe were up like a herd of turtles today. After brunch, we stopped by another unique souvenir shop. This one had a giant Mermaid on the building. By this point, I realized I needed another suitcase just to haul my Christmas presents back. This place had a really big bag type suitcase for $15. ...We were up like a herd of turtles today. After brunch, we stopped by another unique souvenir shop. This one had a giant Mermaid on the building. By this point, I realized I needed another suitcase just to haul my Christmas presents back. This place had a really big bag type suitcase for $15. Perfect! DS also bought an assortment of presents to take back home. Thankfully, the truck we were in had a back row of seats which folded up, leaving us plenty of room to put our assorted treasures each time we went shopping.
We had decided that today would be a DHS day. I had this weird idea to bring my cowboy boots and hat specifically to get pictures in Toy Storyland. They had their own little suitcase for me to carry on just to ensure that my hat didn't get squished. I didn't want to trounce around in boots all day though. I wore my tennis shoes, and DS was a sport while carrying my backpack full of boots. DS really wanted my hat, so we traded it off and on throughout the day. (I let him keep it after our trip was over.)
We were able to make fastpasses for Star Tours (DS loves it), Muppets (didn't want to miss it before it left) and Little Mermaid (never done this before). DS didn't want to do ToT or RnR, since I am not able to do them. We did want to get pics in front of them though. We decided that we would save the pictures for later and headed to Star Tours. DS has always been a huge Star Wars fan, so on our first trip, we had spent quite a lot of time taking pictures around the Star Tours area. One shot is of him under the slightly raised AT-AT foot. He really wanted to recreate it now. He had a bit of a harder time fitting this time. lol We had a moment of sadness that the Backlot Tour was gone. (One trip I had shipped the boys' lightsabers out to Disney World for Star Wars Weekends. Then we spent some time on the Star Wars things in the backlot tour. I also made some cheesy photoshop pictures with them - did anyone else's kids want to be on a land speeder over the sarlacc pit?)
The wait for Star Tours said 10 minutes, so we got in line. DS had this dream to video tape himself riding every combination available on Star Tours. We made it through three rides, and I had to call it quits. DS didn't want to leave me waiting, so he didn't ride any more either. We wandered over to where they have the Galaxy's Edge mural, and I took a picture of DS in front of it. Then it was time for Muppets.
DS had never seen the Muppets show. He liked it quite a bit. After creating a giant hole in the wall of the building, we were able to get out and discover that we were hungry. We wandered through the Muppets store while we debated what we wanted to eat. In the end, we went to Backlot Express. It was only around 5 pm, but they were already shutting down half of the restaurant. We had to hike all the way across to fill our drinks.
It was time for us to go see Ariel. While we were in the waiting area, I found a picture of the Loch Ness monster, which I posted on Facebook for the "Where in the Disney World am I?" game. I don't think anyone ever figured it out. We waited around for a while, but then I couldn't just stand in place any longer. We decided to head to Toy Storyland, stopping for my wardrobe change.

After obtaining a return time for Slinky Dog, we spent our time getting fun pictures around Toy Storyland. I like this place a lot more at night. That could also be because this time I actually had time to take in the atmosphere instead of worry about the whole family group like my last visit. I think DS liked a lot of it, because it is actually taller than he is. That isn't easy to find, since he is 6'4".
It was time for Slinky Dog Dash. So the last time I went on this, I was terrified that DGD was going to fly out of the ride. It's a throw back to when I was young and flipped over the safety bar on a ride. Holding on until they got our car down to the ground wasn't fun. Due to that, I didn't really pay attention to anything on the ride except her. This time, I discovered that you could see the construction on Galaxy's Edge. It was nighttime though, so I didn't get a great look at it. I told myself I wanted to go back during the day to get a better view. We never made it though.
We stopped at TSMM to see if we could get a return time. The CM let us go right on. DS was ahead the whole ride until the very last scene. I pulled out ahead. I'm pretty sure he let me win, but he was also trying to record it on the phone which distracted him. We stopped for a lot of photo opportunities during our exit walk, including one shot of DS crouching down in the grass with one of the army men pretending to be looking through binoculars.
By this time, the rides were closed. DS didn't want to go see the Star Wars fireworks again, and we realized that we never made it back for the photopass pictures in front of ToT and RnR. DS said we would just go take our own.
]]>Trip ReportsCinderelleyhttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217814-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-6What is this planning you speak of? Day 5http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217799-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-5&goto=newpost
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:20:06 GMTThis is where my vacation started feeling like it was back on track. I had breakfast at Crystal Palace, so it started feeling like I really was at Disney World.
Our friendship day celebration started off with me pulling Barksy out of his bag. With everything going on up until this point, I...This is where my vacation started feeling like it was back on track. I had breakfast at Crystal Palace, so it started feeling like I really was at Disney World.
Our friendship day celebration started off with me pulling Barksy out of his bag. With everything going on up until this point, I hadn't done much with him. Knowing how much he drives my son crazy though, I had to make sure he accompanied us to breakfast. DS made a big production about groaning that I was crazy with my stuffed dog, but I think he secretly likes the fact that I still make a big tadoo about a stuffed animal that he bought me a few years ago.
I had my mickey waffles. :D The characters came around, and I relished every moment of it. This place is so light and airy. I just love the atmosphere. Tigger and Eeyore are always good for a laugh. It is a buffet, so DS eats to his hearts content.
When I originally thought about this trip, I had decided I was just going to work my way through each of the lands, stopping to take the pictures I wanted, eating whatever I wanted and just doing whatever I wanted. DS is very laidback and really enjoys photography. That idea worked perfectly for him.
We first went into De Nile. Our skipper was great, and I was excited to see the back side of water. Zambesi Zelda docked just in time for us to get into see the birds sing words and the flowers croon in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room. After angering the gods, we had a fastpass for a ride on the magic carpets.
DS didn't want to go on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin at first. He declared it was a kids' ride, and he was afraid it wouldn't hold his weight. I told him that lots of adults take their kids on it, so it would hold his weight. I won out, and we had a fun magic carpet ride. DS still talks about how much the ride groans though. He is much more mechanically inclined that I am, so perhaps Disney should do a little freshening up of this ride.
After landing in Agrobah, we headed over to Epcot. I don't remember for sure, but I think there was a halloween party at MK that night.
I have to admit, I was an evil mom at this point. DS was already in the Navy by the time I found out about the Beverly, so he never tried it at Epcot. I had wanted to get everyone to try it at once when we were all there, but I forgot. DS loved his time in Italy, so most of me expected him to already know about it, but he didn't. DS and I posed for a toast with our Beverlies and then I proceeded to video tape his reaction. It was pretty hilarious. Afterwards, he declared that Disney collected all of the lost hopes and dead dreams and somehow turned it into a drink to make the Beverly.
We went and got a return time for Test Track and then headed towards World Showcase. It was time to eat our way around the world. Then we had to put the brakes on. DS got a call from DDIL. Someone had taken her wallet and was using their cards to make purchases.
DS banks with USAA. He has always been very happy with them, and they always have commercials on the radio out here about different stories of how the bank took care of their military customers in various crises. I am happy to say that USAA came through in a big way that night. Best Buy did also. Whomever had the wallet tried to use their Discover card to make a $12,000 purchase at Best Buy. (DDIL somehow got an alert about this purchase, which led to her discovering what happened.) Best Buy found something fishy about the whole thing and shut down the transaction until things could be verified. (DS used to work in fraud investigation before he went back to school. He said that Best Buy used to have a huge problem with this, so now their system is very, very picky about purchases.) When DS called Discover, the transaction hadn't even made it to Discover's system, so he knew it was Best Buy that shut it down. Crisis averted, and it was time for Test Track. DS designed the car, and Barksy was very happy to be out of his bag for the test drive. After we passed all the testing, we were starving.
We headed left around world showcase. My favorite food turned out to be the Hawaiian spam hash, surprisingly. We made our way to France, where Texas211 had dared me to have a citron lemonade drink. Well, I don't drink much, so after a bit of it, I was feeling pretty good. DS had to finish it, and he threatened to leave me to sleep on a bench in Epcot. I pondered how wonderful it would be to wake up in Epcot without anyone else around.
DS wanted fish and chips, so we headed back across the bridge. Everything was pretty crowded, so we headed to the back where the garden is and found a bench to sit on. The same bench that DS threatened to leave me on. We watched someone people doing a scavenger hunt. It looked like a lot of fun, so I wondered how they went about doing that.
The rest is kind've a blur, but we somehow made it back to Norway and got schoolbread. I had gotten us fastpasses for Illuminations, but we never figured out where we were supposed to go for them. We found a spot with a low wall (maybe a foot tall) to sit on in order to watch Illuminations. We were at the edge of the Norway pavilion without anyone behind us, so I stood up on the wall to get pictures of Illuminations above everyone's head. Then I promptly fell off the wall. DS got a really good laugh about it. "for your own safety, please remain seated with your arms, hands, feet and legs inside the wall at all times".
Since I had been drinking, I really had to pee. After Illuminations, I went to the bathroom in Norway. It took me a while, so DS wound up falling asleep on the wall. I guess someone woke him up and asked if he was ok. He was a little disoriented at first, trying to figure out where he was. I think we still both needed a little more rest. lol. When I got back to him, a cast member was leading a large group of people into the norway pavilion. I'm still very curious what that was all about, since the park was closed. I wasn't able to see if they went into the restaurant or onto the ride.

DS and I headed out, stopping to get some pictures in front of SSE. By that time, the crowds had thinned out, and we got on a tram pretty easily. We both fell asleep pretty quickly that night, even though DS suffers from insomnia.
]]>Trip ReportsCinderelleyhttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217799-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-5Day 8 - A visit to Boardwalk and then Drunkytown aka Epcothttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217797-Day-8-A-visit-to-Boardwalk-and-then-Drunkytown-aka-Epcot&goto=newpost
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 07:33:00 GMT*Sunday October 28* – Epcot…. A park I once loved… A park I once would have rather spent two days in… A park that had a theme, a purpose… Now?? It is a shell of its former glory… But enough of that, on to the day!!!!
We started bright and early… I booked the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al...Sunday October 28 – Epcot…. A park I once loved… A park I once would have rather spent two days in… A park that had a theme, a purpose… Now?? It is a shell of its former glory… But enough of that, on to the day!!!!

We started bright and early… I booked the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk Resort at 8:45 AM… Only time I could get… For those who aren’t familiar, this is a character meal featuring Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Prince Eric, and Ariel… The breakfast menu items are a bit different than the normal meals… They have a little added flair… I had the Tangled Eggs which came with pasta sauce… My father just ordered two poached eggs which aren’t on the menu but they had no issue making them for him… We both has breakfast sausage, but I ate the breakfast potatoes, he didn’t eat his… They also serve you pastry and a fruit cup to start before main breakfast course… We had good character interaction again… Flynn Rider was the champ, spending time at the table, talking and posing for pictures… Prince Eric did as well… We had finished breakfast, my father went to use the restroom when Ariel came by… I took a picture or two with her, and again, great interaction… I left disappointed though because Rapunzel walked right by my table, never stopped, just walked right by… She was following the same rotation the other characters did, so maybe because I was by myself, she skipped me??? No idea…

We left Boardwalk and drove back to Saratoga Springs… We freshened up, and went to the bus stop to go to Epcot… We were in no rush cause I figured we would finish with this park fast… I don’t mind slowing down and taking my time at all…
Upon entering Epcot, we rode Spaceship Earth first… I told my father how there are rumors the attraction was closing for two years soon… He said good it needs it… And it does… I just am not a fan of this version, and Judy Dench can put me to sleep…

After SSE we made our way to The Seas with Nemo… We walked right on this ride… I had a FP for Living with the Land, but it wasn’t time yet, so we walked over to Imagination…. Hopped on that ride and thought to myself please green light a remake!!! No waits for either attraction, or at least a very minimal… We then entered the Land pavilion… We used our fast pass for living with the Land, which is my all time favorite guilty pleasure of WDW… There is a charm to that attraction, I just don’t know what it is that makes me love it so… I then managed to get onto Soarin without waiting lol.. Don’t ask me how, I will not tell… My father saw this version for the first time, and he liked it… I still love Soarin, and I can say I love both versions, the original and this one…

We then walked over to Universe of Energy… I told my father what they were doing to the ride… He was in shock… He used to work for Exxon, so we would get to sit in the Exxon Employee lounge, we were walked down and never had to wait on line… He couldn’t believe the entire front of the show building is gone, and how large the Guardians of the Galaxy show building is…

While there we decided to take a break… We got a pretzel and bottle of water each and just kicked back people watching… After finishing our snacks, we took a walk to Test Track.. We skipped the stand by and got on the ride within 10 minutes… Our car bombed out during the test phase of the ride… I dunno if I enjoy test track anymore… I mean I do and I don’t… I can give the whole inside portion and just skip to the outside… That’s the best part!!!

Since I don’t do Mission Space, we were finished with FutureWorld… I decided to start World Showcase with Canada this time and work my way around, opposite of how I usually tour World Showcase.. Mainly, I wanted to handle it this way since I had a Frozen FP for 6:30… Not much doing in Canada, and we didn’t want to stand for the 360 film, so we snapped some scenic pictures and moved on… We handled the U.K. pavilion the same way, taking some pictures and moving on…

France was different though… We went to watch Impression de France… I saw this film for the first time in April, and I wondered why I never seen it before… This was also the first time my father watched the film too, and he loved it… Impressions has to be a must do for now on…

Morocco and Japan got the same treatment as Canada and U.K. no stopping in the pavilions only for pictures… After passing Japan, we saw the billboard for America Gardens Theater concert for the evening… Starship was that evening’s performance… My father showed a little excitement about Starship being here in Epcot, so I knew he wanted to see them.. But with the way I had things booked, we wouldn’t be able to... But let’s remember this is WDW where magic happens, and I was about to create some magic…

My father went to use the restroom at American Adventure pavilion, so I called Disney Dining… I told them I was trying to cancel one dining to make plans for a different dining… Originally I booked Garden Grill for 7:15… Plan was to use the FP for Frozen, hit Mexico, then work our way back to The Land for dinner, then watch Illuminations from Showcase Plaza… But plans were about to change… The lady on the other end booked me Biergarten for 5:30 and used some pixie dust to make the cancellation fee disappear into the void…

When my father came out of the restroom I told him what I did, and I could tell he was happy… He tries to play it off but he couldn’t hide it from me… So we continued on our World Showcase tour by catching the tail end of Voices of Liberty and then The American Adventure show… Before this show they made an announcement that they were celebrating our vets, which my father is, so when he stood up it proud a sense of honor and pride to my heart knowing my father is a vet and hero….

We then moved on to Italy, walking into the shops as my father took a few pictures of the pavilion… He loves the country, being there several times, so he wanted to compare the originals in Italy to their counterparts in Epcot… We then stopped in German to check in and eat... I checked in at 5:00, 30 minutes before my time, and once again they sat us quickly… We enjoyed some German food, a buffet my father even enjoys, and one I feel I have to do every trip, even though original plans didn’t call for it this time…

We finished dinner and made our way to Norway… We skipped right by China and used our FP for Frozen… What can I say about an attraction I was not happy about going in this location??? I like it, I do… I still hate the toonification of World Showcase, but I enjoy the ride… Still think its own land in MK or MGM would have been the better option but it is what it is… The attraction is well done, the AA’s are amazing… Again, I just think Frozen deserved bigger and Norway history and folklore needed to be kept with any attraction…

The Mexican pavilion was next.. We hopped on Gran Fiesta Tour, which, pleased, Disney, MAKE THIS COCO… But yea I know, you aren’t… Time for that has come and gone and plans are shelved.. I get it… We took some pictures of the Coco display and exited this pavilion…

We walked around to the boat dock by Canada to take the boat ride across the lagoon to the other side of World Showcase… Once there we got in stand by line for the next Starship show.. Now, the only song I remember from Starship is We Built this City on Rock N Roll… That is, until they played Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, the theme song from Mannequin… That song I knew too... They put on a great show…
Now, since this show was at 8:00 PM, and ended at 8:30 PM, we had 30 minutes to make it over to Showcase Plaza… I scored a FP for Illuminations, and I was determined to use it… We made our way around World Showcase and into the FP area in plenty of time…

And Illuminations, I’m going to miss you… You are my favorite night time fireworks show… I wanted to record it but I decided against it this time.. I wanted to take the show in, enjoy the fireworks, music… I may record it in May…

This night was an Extra Magic Hours night… But I was pretty tired, so was my father… We already had a long day and just wanted to get back to the room… But we couldn’t help ourselves… Before leaving Epcot we took one more ride on Spaceship Earth… And a good choice it was.. By time the ride was over a lot of people had cleared the park… And we had no one on line waiting for the Saratoga Springs bus…

We arrived at Saratoga Springs for our last night… We packed up, only leaving our breakfast items out as well as snacks and bottles of water in the fridge… They would go in our cooler in the morning… We watched a little TV then called it a night…
I went into my bedroom and put on my TV for the last night… I let myself fall asleep to Stacey’s Top 7 Must Do’s… thinking about the drive home and how much I hate leaving…

Day 9 and 10 – Long Drive Home coming up
]]>Trip ReportsDizneyFreak2002http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217797-Day-8-A-visit-to-Boardwalk-and-then-Drunkytown-aka-EpcotDay 7 – Old Friends and happily everhttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217796-Day-7-–-Old-Friends-and-happily-ever&goto=newpost
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 07:30:43 GMT*Saturday October 27* – Back to Magic Kingdom… No ADR for this day so breakfast was in the room… We then headed out to the bus stop and were soon on our way to Magic Kingdom…
And ahhh there it is again, Cinderella Castle… It is a site I can never get tired of…
We started in Tomorrowland again,...Saturday October 27 – Back to Magic Kingdom… No ADR for this day so breakfast was in the room… We then headed out to the bus stop and were soon on our way to Magic Kingdom…

And ahhh there it is again, Cinderella Castle… It is a site I can never get tired of…
We started in Tomorrowland again, this time taking a ride on TTA and then Space Mountain.. My father mentioned it a few times, so I knew he wanted to go on it… And even though I didn’t, I went on it anyway… And it disappointed me again… Very jerky, very rough… My father commented how I was right, the ride didn’t feel the same as he remembered it last time… He has a bad back like I do so I wanted to make sure he was OK, which he was... I was too just felt the hurt during the ride… No other coaster does this to me, not even Big Thunder Mountain…. My Space Mountain days I think are over until they do something with it…

We walked around to Fantasyland and made sure to ride 7D again… FP saved time cause the wait was 90 minutes… After 7D, we went back to Main Street to ride the train… We didn’t do this the first day, and my father was looking forward to it.. I was too, and I suggested we ride it all the way around, get on the train at Main Street, ride it all around to Main street… So that way we were back on Main Street for Festival of Fantasy parade… This ride is another guilty pleasure of mine.. it is relaxing and enjoyable…

We exited at Main Street after our scenic trip around the Magic Kingdom… I grabbed a spot on the balcony for the parade… However, we were told we had to move cause that section was reserved… Oh well.. Not a big deal, we grabbed a spot right in front of the tunnel, in between the train station and Town Square Theater… Perfect view of the floats turning the circle before entering the float barn backstage… I managed to film the entire parade…

My father wanted to know what was next… I told him we have dinner at 4:30 at Crystal Palace… So we decided to look around in Emporium first… I checked in at 4:!5, and by 4:20 we were seated… We ate, met Pooh, Eyeore, and Piglet, but missed Tigger… I liked Crystal Palace, I don’t think my father really did… But that’s cool, Crystal Palace isn’t the best… I really only booked it for the characters…
My friend started texting me asking me where I was… Told her MK and she said she would meet us about 7:30… After dinner, we took in Country Bear Jamboree… Watched the Tiki Birds… got another ride on Small World, and finished with 7D again…

We went back to Main Street and sat on a bench by the entrance… My friend text me saying she was here, on Main Street, and scoped out a spot for Happily Ever After… I told her where I was, and she decided to come over to my location… We sat on the bench talking, catching up since we haven’t seen each other in years… We had a falling out and stopped talking, until last year… I reached out to her on Facebook, and we started talking again… My father met her for the first time....

We watched Happily Ever After… My father saw it for the first time enjoyed it… I saw it in April for the first time… I enjoy it too, but I think Wishes was better… My friend and her girlfriend were planning on coming over to hang out for a bit but after we left MK, they decided not to.. My friend said she would meet us at Epcot on Sunday, but well, that’s a story for the next trip report LOL…

We didn’t ride all the attractions… But we hit what we didn’t hit the first MK day… And a few things we wanted to see again... Plus FoF parade… Over all, another great day…

Reality hit me back at the room… Tomorrow was going to be our last day in WDW… We couldn’t believe how fast the week went by… But, we would have plenty of time to reminisce on the drive home… We watched some TV and called it a night knowing we had a very early start to Sunday, our last day at Walt Disney World….

Day 8 - A visit to Boardwalk and then Drunkytown aka Epcot coming up…
]]>Trip ReportsDizneyFreak2002http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217796-Day-7-–-Old-Friends-and-happily-everDay 6 – Do we relax, or do we join the Rebellion?????http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217795-Day-6-–-Do-we-relax-or-do-we-join-the-Rebellion&goto=newpost
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 07:29:38 GMT*Friday October 26* – This day was our scheduled rest day… I booked breakfast at 1900 Park Fare… We drove over to Grand Floridian, testing the new resort roadway… I think I like the new fly over better…
The breakfast buffet was delish… Character interaction??? Well… I was a tad disappointed but...Friday October 26 – This day was our scheduled rest day… I booked breakfast at 1900 Park Fare… We drove over to Grand Floridian, testing the new resort roadway… I think I like the new fly over better…

The breakfast buffet was delish… Character interaction??? Well… I was a tad disappointed but nothing that made me feel like I lost out… We only saw Alice and Mary Poppins… Pooh came by but didn’t stop… Mad Hatter didn’t make it to our table… My father did say he never feels like he gets hios money’s worth at a buffet because he doesn’t eat a lot… And for sure, neither of us ate 40 dollars worth of food… But we know we are paying for the characters.. And even that, we didn’t get all the characters by our table…

We left Grand Floridian, and as we were walking back to our car, we saw a horse drawn carriage approaching… it was a bride and groom who JUST got married at the wedding pavilion… We stopped, watched them pass by, congratulated them, and off we went…

Back at Saratoga Springs, we were reviewing our plans for the day… We did plan on going to Disney Springs for dinner and shopping… I wanted to take a ride on the hot air balloon too.. But first, we decided to just relax… My father walked down to the pool, which was right outside our room… I stayed back a bit to do a wash… I then joined him by the pool… We had a great view of Disney Springs, and of course, the balloon ride wasn’t open… BLAH….

After a few hours of sitting by the pool, we walked back to the room… My father put on a wash after mine was done, and off to Disney Springs we went… We walked over since we were so close to the walkway…

First stop, THE VOID!!!! I was mad at myself for not doing this in April, but it was for the best… Being alone would have been AWKWARD to say the least… We checked in, got our mission, got suited up, and we were off to help the rebellion…. The Void is AWESOME!!! Weird too… Let me see if I can explain how this works… After signing a waiver, yes you have to sign a waiver, you are led into the mission room.. There you are briefed as to what the mission you are to complete and choose the color of your Stormtrooper gear… you are next led to the equipment room… Here a Void employee fits you for a vest and VR helmet… Oh yea, I forgot to mention, the Void is a virtual reality experience… Once fitted for vest and VR helmet, you are taken to the next room where they make sure you are ready.. They test to make sure you can see your VR goggles screen clearly… Once they make sure you can hear each other and can see clearly, the mission starts… You start in one room where you sit down and a spaceship transporter brings you into Empire territory, I want to say on Mustafar…. You are spies, blending in with the empire since you are stormtroopers… Of course, things go wrong, you grab your gun, and you start bl;asting troopers who are now aware of your presence… You move from room to room… In each room you have to kill all the enemies, one of them a lava monster… Another room you have to follow a code in order to get into the next… The final room you face Darth Vader but before he kill you, the rebellion saves you, last second… And your mission is complete… You secured the part the rebellion was looking for… SUCCESS!!! The employees them make sure you are OK, you take a picture in your Void gear, then the employees help you remove everything… You can buy the picture upon exiting the maze, back in the lobby… Over all I loved it… My father enjoyed it… This is something I would do again.. And yes, I bought the picture…

Dinner was booked for 8:00 at Maria and Enzo’s, so we started heading that way… We arrived 30 minutes early for our ADR, but that was not a problem, they seated us right away… Very nice inside, classy… The hosts were dressed like flight attendants… The inside reminded me of a hanger or airport… We had a table by the window so I was able to see up close the hot air balloon, which did not ruin all day due to the wind, from what I was told… And the food… oh the food was the best meal of the week… I highly recommend Maria and Enzo’s… HIGHJLY RECOMMEND!!! In fact, I would totally dine there alone in May and I wouldn’t care!!!

After eating, we walked more of Disey Springs, back toward World of Disney… We stopped at Ghirardelli for our free piece of chocolate, and my father wound up buying from for his cousin, his friend, and himself… We then went to World of Disney, and man, do I love what they did with the store…. Despite being crowded, it didn’t really feel it… I love the new look, the lay out… Everything about it… This was a makeover that was needed a long time ago.. They did not disappoint at all…

After getting what we wanted to buy in WoD, we decided to call it a day… We knew we had another MK day coming up on Saturday, so we wanted to get back to the room to watch TV, finish our laundry, and get to bed… Before leaving Disney Springs, I did stop in the Star Wars store for a few minutes, but I didn’t buy anything… We made our way back to Saratoga via the walk way, back to our room, and there we called it a night….

Day 7 – Old Friends and happily ever after coming up…
]]>Trip ReportsDizneyFreak2002http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217795-Day-6-–-Do-we-relax-or-do-we-join-the-RebellionDAY 5 – This is Halloween and I am the Pumpkin Kinghttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217794-DAY-5-–-This-is-Halloween-and-I-am-the-Pumpkin-King&goto=newpost
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 07:26:58 GMTSorry I took so long to finish my trip reports...
*Thursday October 25* – Magic Kingdom and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Day!!!!! I haven’t done the Halloween party in a few years, and my father had never been there for it ever, so I figured, WHY NOT… Tickets cost over $200 total, no...Sorry I took so long to finish my trip reports...

Thursday October 25 – Magic Kingdom and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Day!!!!! I haven’t done the Halloween party in a few years, and my father had never been there for it ever, so I figured, WHY NOT… Tickets cost over $200 total, no DVC discount this close tom Halloween, but no bother…

Day started out with breakfast at my favorite spot, KONA CAFE!!! We hopped on the Magic Kingdom bus, then hoofed it over to the monorails… We then took the monorail over to Polynesian, arriving with more than enough time to spare for our ADR… I checked in, and not even 5 minutes later we were seated, well before our ADR time… I had the Tonga Toast, as usual… My father has Macadamia Nut pancakes… Kona Café is my one must do breakfast during every trip…

We finished eating and hopped the monorail back to MK… Long lines to get in but not much wait at all… Soon, we were walking through the tunnel and onto Main Street…
Our first stop was Guest Services… I wanted to double check my Halloween tickets were active... Looking at the app, they didn’t appear to be assigned or activated, but the woman at the counter assured me they were… She also told me to make sure to work my way back to Town Square and the side alley entrance to the party because they were giving out big bags full of candy there… So we took note to make sure to be at the side alley entrance later in the day…

We walked down Main Street, taking in the site of the Castle… I still get chills every time I see it up close and in person… We took our pictures and moved on to Tomorrowland… I had a FP for Buzz Lightyear, but it wasn’t time yet… So first thing we did was Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.. I haven’t seen this attraction in a while… I quickly remembered why… Cute, but never a must do for me… Next was Carousel of Progress, which is always a must do… But we experienced something funny this time… After the first scene, two people stood up and walked out, right before the first scene was over.. Turns out, that prevented the theater from moving to the next theater, so we got to see that scene a second time… After Carousel, we rode another guilty pleasure of mine, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover… I find this ride nice and relaxing, and cooling on a hot, crowded day… Finally, out FP time for Buzz arrived, so we were off to fight Zurg and become Space Rangers… I don’t remember our scores, but I don’t think we achieved Space Ranger status… We skipped Space Mountain because of me.. In April, after I rode it, I legit had a headache… That ride is not smooth at all, and it jerks ya left and right and it does tend to make my back sore…

We moved on to Fantasyland, and shockingly, the wait times weren’t too bad… We waited 15 minutes for Winnie the Pooh, walked onto Little Mermaid, and FP’d 7 Dwarf’s Mine Train… I will admit, 7D has grown on my and has become a must do and a favorite of mine… Heck, my father loved it too… We agreed, 7D is 100 times better than Slinky Dog…

We worked our way over to the other side of Fantasyland… Mickey’s Philharmagic was a 10 minute wait… I love Philharmagic, but it is time for it to be shut down and revamped… New scenes are a must now, let’s get this refreshed!!! We took a look at the posted wait time for Peter Pan... 90 minutes? No thank you!!! I had a FP for a little later so instead, we walked on to Small World... Posted wait time of 5 minutes, and it was more like 0 minutes…
]]>Trip ReportsDizneyFreak2002http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217794-DAY-5-–-This-is-Halloween-and-I-am-the-Pumpkin-KingWine and Dine RunICOT 2018 Day 4 -5 Quick Takeshttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217781-Wine-and-Dine-RunICOT-2018-Day-4-5-Quick-Takes&goto=newpost
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 21:04:18 GMTDay 5 started early with staking out a spot with the rest of the CheerICOT crew along the Boardwalk. A few parking difficulties aside, the group was able to gather to cheer on Justin in his first Half Marathon.
After a fun morning of cheering, I headed off to Disney Springs for Brunch. The...Day 5 started early with staking out a spot with the rest of the CheerICOT crew along the Boardwalk. A few parking difficulties aside, the group was able to gather to cheer on Justin in his first Half Marathon.

After a fun morning of cheering, I headed off to Disney Springs for Brunch. The Rise and Shine Brunch at Chef Art Smith was very, very good. The Bacon, Pecan, Carmel doughnuts were very light (like a yeast doughnut) and a good accompaniment to one of their heavier Brunch dishes. Had the Chicken and Biscuits, it was good, but could have done without all the added sauce/gravy they put on. To me it takes away from the flavor of the chicken rather than adding to it. The Florida Crush cocktail was very good.

After the Springs it was off to Epcot for a few Fastpasses and then meeting up with the RunICOT crew. Had a nice Dinner at San Angel Inn (another first dining spot for me) and did the After Race Party. The rain was a bit of a hamper on the evening, but the group was able to get in a few attractions and experience one of the surprise Adventures Club shows.

Day 5 was more of any easy day. Headed off to the Studios primarily for my Slinky Dog FastPass. Enjoyed the Coaster, but did not get as much air time as I expected.--this may have been because I was in the very back car however. Still a fun coaster. Did my other Fastpasses and headed out of the extremely crowded park. Evidently this was the formal beginning of Jersey Week. Went back to the Boardwalk to enjoy the hotel. Had dinner at the new Pizza window. The white pizza with bacon and mushroom was very good. Tried the Dole Whip Smoothie, but found it was neither whipped nor smooth--more of a slushier than a smoothie. With another stroll along the boardwalk it was time to draw the trip to a close.

Overall, had a great time with dear friends and can't wait till the next one!
]]>Trip ReportsFigment!http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217781-Wine-and-Dine-RunICOT-2018-Day-4-5-Quick-TakesWine and Dine RunICOT 2018 Day 2 -3 Quick Takeshttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217780-Wine-and-Dine-RunICOT-2018-Day-2-3-Quick-Takes&goto=newpost
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 20:48:46 GMTDay 2 started with Extra Magic Hour at Disney's Hollywood Studios. As was pointed out in another thread, the walk from the Boardwalk is now an extra 5 - 8 minutes due to the New Bus Stop construction for the Studios.

Bag check and entry was slow, but moving. Most the crowd (as expected) walked back to Toy Story Land. Before I reached the start of the new land, I reached the queue for Slinky Dog. The Cast Member had a sign stating it was 65 Minutes. I turned about face and went for a stroll down Sunset Blvd, but Ian did get in (on) the line and shared that it was only about 30 minutes.

After riding Tower of Tower back to back 4 times, I felt satisfied with my "extra hour". Met up with the rest of the RunICOT crew later in the day and we did our Fastpasses, jut before storms rolled in. We took shelter in the Backlot Express and were surprised by the Tornado Warnings. When the weather cleared we called it a day and heading back to our hotels.

Day 3 started with the Extra Magic Hour at Disney's Animal Kingdom. They were moving people into the park as early as 7:30 am for the 8:00 am start. The line for Flight of Passage was at the giant seed pod, but moving at a very steady pace as they filled the "queue" area. I was off the ride by 8:15 am with the ride starting operation at 8:00 am, so that did not seem too bad, plus the queue area is very enjoyable. The river ride was posted up to 25 minutes at that point, so I opted to wait for my Fastpass later in the morning. Snacked on a Lumpia and enjoyed it quite a bit, kind of like a Sweet Pineapple Spring Roll. Did my three Fastpasses and had lunch at Flame Tree before heading to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with the rest of the RunICOT crew. Magic Kingdom was pretty crowded but got in most of my favorites (Tiki Birds w/ Dole Whip stop, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress). Ate at Liberty Tavern for the first time and did the Wishes Dessert Party with Plaza viewing for the second time. Still really like the Plaza viewing and would recommend for those looking for a great view with out need to stake out a spot far in advance (the desserts are just icing on top). With fireworks done, took a nice stroll to the Contemporary and grabbed an Uber back to the Boardwalk. Really convenient, waited only about 1 minute at still a bargain at <$10 with surge pricing.
]]>Trip ReportsFigment!http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217780-Wine-and-Dine-RunICOT-2018-Day-2-3-Quick-TakesFirst time MNSSHP reporthttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217777-First-time-MNSSHP-report&goto=newpost
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:24:59 GMTWe went to our first mnsshp on the 28th. Just leaving my notes in case they help someone next year. We were in Clearwater the 25th-28th for a family get together. (We are from Chicago). We left clearwater about 11:30 on sunday, with a stop for coffee we got to the polynesian about 1pm. I had...We went to our first mnsshp on the 28th. Just leaving my notes in case they help someone next year. We were in Clearwater the 25th-28th for a family get together. (We are from Chicago). We left clearwater about 11:30 on sunday, with a stop for coffee we got to the polynesian about 1pm. I had already checked into the app and it said our room was not ready but we went to the great hall anyway to check. They were able to give us a different room, so we were very excited - Pogo, Pogo (I think?) room 3109. We love the DVCs and have stayed in a few. We had a studio for the 5 of us (me, DH, DS10, DS8 and DD4). The room was perfect for one night, but we would need a 1 bedroom for much longer - we really like to have a kitchen for quick meals. Having 2 bathroom areas was great, but it would have been even better to have a toilet in both, but it was nice to have the 2 areas while getting ready. We napped for about an hour and a half - room got very dark and was pretty quiet except for a car alarm that went off. Even though we had a view of the parking lot, the kids were psyched to be able to see the monorail go by our room.

Left for the party about 3:20 - took the resort monorail and were in the park with our bands by 3:45. We took the bypass to get our treat bags and first treats and headed to space mountain. We had a 3:10 fastpass and by the time we got there it was 4:20, but we were still able to babyswap and go on. Not too many people in costume at that time, but that changed as the evening went on. Had 2 more fastpasses for haunted mansion and big thunder mountain. Grabbed a quick dinner at pecos bills and headed off to meet Moana. We got in line about 7:05 and she came out about 7:10, but by 7:40 the line stopped moving completely. From one of the cast members, it sounded like a child had a bathroom accident while meeting Moana. Had to wait another 20 min to have 3 people come and clean it up - I think had that not happened, the wait would have been about 30 min. We rode the magic carpets, winnie the pooh, it's a small world, dumbo, the speedway, special effects tea cups and space mountain all with little to no wait. Some rides they asked us if we wanted to stay on and ride again! Rode the 7 dwarves with a 30 min wait (posted was 40). Saw the hocus pocus show and fireworks we watched from fantasyland. We tried the hades nachos (good but would not probably get again) and the maleficant ice cream cone - my boys loved that...kind of like a lime dole whip. We ended up with about 10-15 pounds of candy...one very full reusable shopping bag. Even those we never really waited, just walked through a line....country bear seemed to have the best candy and 2 stops - lots of Dove candies there :)

All in all, we had a fantastic time and would go back again in a heartbeat. It did not seem overly crowded to us at all - but we went in with low expectations so maybe we were mentally prepared? The nap was key for our family and doing it in a trip where we were only there for 2 days. Next time I would love to see the parade and maybe a better spot for fireworks. My family had a great time dressing in costume and seeing others. I was happy to see only one or two questionable costumes. My favorite costume of the night was princess Belle with a belt made of tacos hehe.
]]>Trip Reportsangyl15http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217777-First-time-MNSSHP-reportWhat is this planning you speak of? Day 4http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217774-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-4&goto=newpost
Sun, 04 Nov 2018 06:30:15 GMTDS got up and took DDIL to the airport at some point in the day, but I have no idea when it was. I slept and slept and slept some more. DS took a nap when he realized I wasn't going to wake up any time soon. At some point in the early afternoon, we both dragged our bodies out of bed. DS made some breakfast for us. (Yeah, I was totally spoiled this trip.)
I confessed that I didn't to go to a park that day, and DS agreed. We spent some time walking around the resort to check it out. It was a pretty good place. Not a traditional timeshare like I am used to, but someone had converted a hotel into timeshare units. It was on the lake. You could get boats to go out on the lake. There was a volleyball net, some bbq areas, a swimming pool, a place to fish, a gazebo and a hammock.
Today was the day that I discovered there is a whole lot more to Orlando than Disney World. Yes, I knew it in my head, but I had not ventured much beyond the mouse's kingdom before. There were several interesting looking buildings on the road we were staying on. I told DS I wanted to go see the one with the giant wizard on it. I had also seen it during our helicopter flight on the previous trip. It turned out to be a souvenir shop. I thought it would be full of cheap, cheesy 99 cent souvenirs, but it had some pretty nice stuff. I wound up buying some Christmas presents and gifts to give the people back home.
DS said that he was hungry. I'm pretty sure this is a permanent state for him since his teenage years. It must take a lot to fuel a 6'4" body frame. I excitedly told him that I wanted to go to the build your own pasta station at Port Orleans Riverside. DS never passes up pasta, so off we went to Port Orleans. I texted PopPhan to find out about Yeeha Bob. Everyone says they love him, and it seemed like a laid back way to enjoy our evening. Ever the fount of knowledge, PopPhan told us how to find him.
DS had never been to Port Orleans before, and he loved it. The food court was crazy busy, but we didn't have to wait in line too long. DS indulged my fascination with the fire (the whole reason I go here), and then we got some refillable mugs. Even though we weren't staying there, I always bring a cup back home with me. I was tired of wearing my arm sling, so I was wandering around without it. I was holding my arm in that same position though, so DS continued to laugh about me looking like I had a stomach ache instead of a hurt arm.
After dinner, we headed to the River Roost, but Yeeha Bob wasn't playing that night. They had someone else, but DS and I didn't stay. We wandered out to the horse and carriage rides. They were all booked up though. We decided to take the boat to Disney Springs (which I still call Downtown Disney). DDIL wanted DS to get a Star Wars hat that had a piece of wood on the brim which said "May the Forest be with you". I had also secretly made plans with my other kids to buy DS the Kylo Ren lightsaber for a group Christmas present. I wasn't able to shake DS in order to buy it though. He was very good at making sure no one could bump my arm. I eventually had to just tell him instead of surprising him at Christmas. He got the same gleam in his eye that he used to get as a little boy on Christmas morning. Then he couldn't stand the thought of having to wait a couple of months go be able to play with it. Although I was disappointed in not surprising him, I think I may enjoy his torture of not being able to touch it even more. We couldn't find the hat. A CM said they didn't carry it there, but they may have it at Animal Kingdom.
I wanted to get one of the Mickey ears with interchangeable bows. They were nowhere to be found though (the base ears that is). A cast member at World of Disney said that Stitch was holding them hostage in the back and to check back in a couple of days.
We went into Amorette's Patisserie. Everything looked so amazing, but it turned out to be a big disappointment. The chocolate dessert wasn't very chocolatey. The hot chocolate came in a tiny cup that I could fit my whole hand around and disappeared entirely when DS put his hand around it. Then it wasn't even filled all the way. I probably won't ever go back there again.
There was a person dressed all in purple with purple body paint standing perfectly still just a little outside of the Patisserie. First there was a female, and then there was a male. It was fun to watch people walk up to take a picture and then get the **** scared out of them when the person moved.
We wandered through the Christmas shop, because I wanted to buy my daughter a first Christmas ornament. I had bought one for each of the boys when they got married too. I couldn't decide between two, so I took pictures of them to look at later. It was almost time for the last boat back to Port Orleans, so we headed out.
DS wanted to stop at the wheel before we left Port Orleans. He took some pictures, and we wandered all over the grounds. I love this resort. It holds a lot of great memories for me, and it is so peaceful to just walk through.
DS was thinking about flying back home in the next couple of days, so he had me try to drive the truck back to the timeshare. It didn't go so well, so he just made arrangements with his school to stay with me the whole time I was there. I felt badly that he put his life on hold, but at the same time, I was extremely happy that I got to spend more time with him. :)
]]>Trip ReportsCinderelleyhttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217774-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-4Wine and Dine RunICOT 2018 Day 1 Quick Takeshttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217773-Wine-and-Dine-RunICOT-2018-Day-1-Quick-Takes&goto=newpost
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 00:56:19 GMTNice afternoon at Disney Springs, not too crowded and checked out the new World of Disney store and Disney style. With my obligatory stop by the marketplace Co Op.
Mixed feelings on World of Disney store, missed the structure of the different rooms, but you can see where you were going...Nice afternoon at Disney Springs, not too crowded and checked out the new World of Disney store and Disney style. With my obligatory stop by the marketplace Co Op.

Mixed feelings on World of Disney store, missed the structure of the different rooms, but you can see where you were going better. Really don’t think they opened up much space for walking, the open design seems to be more about removing all the intermediate walls, more structured aisle ways , but then still small spaces to get to almost all of the merchandise. Like all the little animation history related touches, and the Mickey Mouse club section. Definitely pay attention to the counter at the registers for some more details in addition to the advertised magic that goes on behind them on the wall. Could have used some more of those touches though, definitely feels overly generic In several spots. For example in the center of the store there is an open second floor space with blue tinted glass, they could easily have different Disney characters silhouettes walking by, this would still keep with the more subtle execution but add more Disney animation touches.

Very nice dinner with Justin at the Edison. Nice restaurant inside and both had good burgers. Neither of us could figure out though what took them so long to build it. Liked the craft cocktail I got, somewhat ambivalent to going back for food based on the other dining choices in the area, but think I would for sure stop in for to try some other craft cocktails.
]]>Trip ReportsFigment!http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217773-Wine-and-Dine-RunICOT-2018-Day-1-Quick-TakesWhat is this planning you speak of? Day 3http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217759-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-3&goto=newpost
Sun, 28 Oct 2018 08:36:21 GMTGroaning, I woke up bright and early for the Intercot breakfast meet and wondered who's idea it was to meet for breakfast. :P PopPhan was nice enough to not rub it in my face that I did it to myself. DS and DDIL were starting on a 3 park whirlwind day, since DDIL had to fly back to Phoenix in the morning due to work.
I was on my merry way to the Polynesian when I get an urgent summons to DHS. Something was wrong with DS' ticket (which I just bought the night before), and I had to be there to straighten it out. Interestingly enough, this had happened with his ticket during our trip earlier this month. I am wondering if it has to do with me buying it and assigning it to him through the app. "No worries," I thought. I still had an hour before the meet. I got the ticket straightened out and headed out to the bus stop.
With all the construction, the bus stop is in a different place, out in the middle of nowhere. 30 mins later, still no Polynesian bus and no cast members to ask. People were lining up behind me and in other resort lines. They had been at the extra magic hours at Toy Storyland and were leaving now. Still no bus. I was seriously thinking about taking a taxi, but no one knew where the taxis were with all the construction. Finally, a bus pulled up, and we all gratefully piled on. Then the bus driver tells us that service from the park back to the resort doesn't start until 11 am. A supervisor happened to see people lined up for the buses and called to get buses. I think this is a stupid idea. 1.) You market these extra hours in Toy Storyland. When people are done with them, they should have a way to get back to their resort when the time is up. 2.) If you're gonna go with this stupid idea, at least post it so that people know and let them know an alternative way to get to where they are going. 3) Have a cast member in an easily accessible place to get info from.

I finally made it to the Polynesian and met some great Intercotees. :) I really liked hearing everyone's stories about their first trip to Disney World. So many of us thought "this will be our once in a lifetime trip" on that first trip. Now we're all hooked.

I asked PopPhan where to get the annual passholder cutting board at Epcot. He told me it was inside the gold domed building next to Mission Space. There's a gold domed building next to Mission Space? All I could think of was Universe of Energy. He said it was between Mission Space and Universe of Energy.

After breakfast, the kids had left DHS and were at Epcot. Initially I went to the bus stop to meet them at Epcot. After sitting there for a few minutes, I noticed a board with bus times on it. It said I had to take the monorail to Epcot. Duh. So, I headed to the monorail. The first thing I did when I arrived at Epcot was go looking for the gold domed building. There it was - giant and golden. In my defense, you can't really see it on the way to Mission Space because of the trees, but I don't know how I missed it all those years I went on Universe of Energy.

I got a return time on Test Track and headed to World Showcase to meet the kids. They had worked their way counter clockwise from the International Gateway and were in Germany. I made it to the African Outpost and had to stop to take a break. They found me there, and then we continued their circuit. I was still full from breakfast but couldn't resist sampling the Greek offerings. We got one of each and found a place to sit. It was all delicious.

It was time to design our car. DDIL wanted to make a weird car, so we wound up with a V shaped car roof. The ride seemed pretty tamed down from when we were there with the whole family. DS mentioned something about it also.

We left Epcot and headed to AK. DS and DDIL went to EE while I got a return time to Kilimanjaro Safaris. DDIL managed to score fastpasses for us for NRJ later in the evening. Initially, I thought I would go explore Gorilla Falls, but they closed it at 5 pm. It was 5:20. I found a bench and laid down on it. I reminded myself of that guy who was on the planning DVDs one year who supposedly checked out all the resting spots.

We went on the safari, but the animals weren't too active. Then we headed to NRJ, stopping to get a FoP return time on the way. I was dragging by the time the park closed at 8 pm. The thought of walking to the bus stop, standing in line for a bus, transferring somewhere to get back to DHS, riding the tram to the parking lot and then driving to our room was too much for me. I hopped on the Lyft app or Uber or whatever it was. 9 mins later, we were comfortably ensconced in a car with Sean driving us to DHS. Sean was great. He had obviously been doing his job for quite a while and asked where we were parked. He dropped us off near our truck, and we could see the Star Wars fireworks going off as we left the parking lot. I was so glad to be out of there before the mass of people came pouring out of the park.
]]>Trip ReportsCinderelleyhttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217759-What-is-this-planning-you-speak-of-Day-3What is this plannning you speak of? Day 2http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217758-What-is-this-plannning-you-speak-of-Day-2&goto=newpost
Sun, 28 Oct 2018 07:51:45 GMTI don't know how DS managed to wake up and go to the airport to pick up DDIL, but he did. (ah the energy of youth). I slept through the whole thing. When I woke up, DDIL was in the bedroom taking a 1.5 hour nap before we hit MNSSHP. I changed into my alter ego - Maleficent. I had actually had a cool steampunk Maleficent outfit planned out, but it was a no go with the hurt arm. I put on the purple corset and some black jeans with my Maleficent ears.
DDIL woke up and we headed to our dinner reservation at Be Our Guest. Originally I had made the reservation for 2 (they wouldn't let me book with just 1 person, but it worked out well.) I called and they were able to bump up the number of people on the reservation without any problems. They also still had tickets available for the Halloween party.
I originally booked this dinner just to get my picture with The Beast. I wasn't a fan of the menu, but DS and DDIL really enjoyed the food. We had a lot of fun with the desserts too. There was a dessert on the plate that looks just like a paper decoration. I have a picture of DS eating it like a goat.
You get your photo taken with The Beast after dinner. The cast member was great and helped me get the arm sling off. The Beast made a big deal about my horns. Then he and I discussed how the photopass photographer didn't have any horns. I said I would whip up a spell to fix that, but the photographer said no magical antics were allowed in the castle. After the picture, I thanked her for helping me with my vanity by removing the arm sling. We had a good laugh. Then she explained that she understood, because she had to wear a boot for several months before. My son told me that without my sling, I just looked like I have a bad stomachache the way I held my arm. Oh well, I have my picture with the Beast.
DDIL was all about the rides, so we rushed around all over the place. It felt like we rode every ride that was open. DS and I had a great time on the teacups going as fast as we could. Between the spinning and the pain medication, I had a little trouble walking out of the ride.
DDIL doesn't like getting her picture taken, but she did agree to stop for a few of them. We found a photopass photographer just outside of the Tangled bathrooms. They also did the lantern picture across from the bathrooms. My favorite picture of the night though was the two of them on Buzz Lightyear. She likes it too, so I get to put it up on the wall at my house.
We had seen the list of goodies that we could get during the Halloween party, so we decided to try them. When I asked for the Maleficent cone at Storybook Treats, the cast member went along with my costume and told me that it was free. She said that Mickey thought it would be wrong to make me pay for my own treat. I told her that I wouldn't cast a spell on her for her fast thinking.
Midnight came, and I turned into a pumpkin. I don't even remember the ride home.
]]>Trip ReportsCinderelleyhttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217758-What-is-this-plannning-you-speak-of-Day-2Day 4 - African Safaris, Asian Mountains, and Alien Moonshttp://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217756-Day-4-African-Safaris-Asian-Mountains-and-Alien-Moons&goto=newpost
Fri, 26 Oct 2018 19:33:53 GMT*Wednesday October 24* - This day was Animal Kingdom day, so strap in fellow Wilderness Explorers as I take you through our adventure...
We arrived at the park a little later in the morning than planned, but no big deal... We adapted NO RUSH as our vacation motto... Upon entering the park, we...Wednesday October 24 - This day was Animal Kingdom day, so strap in fellow Wilderness Explorers as I take you through our adventure...

We arrived at the park a little later in the morning than planned, but no big deal... We adapted NO RUSH as our vacation motto... Upon entering the park, we headed left toward Pandora and Africa... I looked at the app and saw Flight of Passage had a 2 hour wait already... I didn't have fast passes for it, nor was I able to secure any, so we decided to skip Pandora for now... I did have fast passes for Na'vi River Ride but for later in the day... Africa because our first stop...

We were able to make the first showing of the Festival of the Lion King... And this show just gets better... Great way to start the day... I only had one question come to my mind... I believe the lead younger female says her name is Kibibi meaning princess in Swahili... However, I looked that up cause I like to research name meanings in foreign languages, and according to what I found Kibibi actually means little woman... Disney couldn't have messed this up, could they???

After Lion King, we rode Kilimanjaro Safari... And it was a great safari... Many of the animals were out and about, and our guide was pretty good too...

Our fast pass for Everest was coming up so we strolled on over into Asia... We conquered Expedition Everest, and my father and I agreed, much better coaster than Slinky Dog... Two different animals, I know... But still... LOL...

Now here is where something sad, pathetic, or whatever, I don't know how to describe it happened to me... Nothing bad so no worries!!!

See, I watch these Youtube videos of someone from New Jersey who has worked the college program... I followed her vlogs about the DCP and her park adventures, and her working adventures, as well as her personal life at home adventures... In her vlogs she tells her viewers if they ever see her to stop and say hi... We've communicated on Instagram a little, so I told her I would be in WDW this week... She told me to say hi if i see her... Well, anyway, as my father and I were walking from Africa into Asia, I thought i saw her at her post... It looked like her, so yea probably was... But I never went over to introduce myself... I am all for making new friends, especially Disney friends... And who knows if they become a friend to hang out with while visiting WDW.... But, I never approached her... I suddenly felt shy, weird even... Plus my father was with me... And I tend to hold myself back in front of him, though he says all the time I don't need to... I just do... Always did in front of my parents... What do you think??? Pathetic on my part?? Sad??? Think I did the right thing and not introduce myself??

OK, back to our adventure... After Everest we went to watch Finding Nemo the Musical... MY FAVORITE SHOW... Yes I love it... just a little more than FotLK, but I do love both... I checked my app and it was time for our Dinosaur FP.. HOWEVER....

Dinosaur was down... Oh well, first thing that didn't go right today... Since dinner was booked for 7:30 PM, we got some pizza at Pizzafari... And after eating, we went to sit in It's Tough to Be A Bug so we could digest comfortably...

ITTBAB is still cute even though it is old... I don't want to say it needs to be replaced maybe freshened up...

Checked the app again, Dinosaur was still down... So, we went on another safari ride... Second ride was as good as the first with the animals but we had a better guide this time...

We found some shade and sat down cooling down with refreshing and very expensive $3.50 bottle of water... I checked the app one more time... Dinosaur was now open and FoP ad an almost 3 hour wait... NO!!!!!!

We walked over to Dinosaur where we approached two Cast Members outside the ride.. Apparently it broke down again... Oh well, nothing we could do... We decided now was the time to just head into Pandora...

We spent the first few minutes taking in the sites... And taking a few pictures... I then went into the gift shop so I could adopt a banshee... Now I just need a name for him.... I also got him a perch so he can rest on it... hehehehehe...

There was still time before out river ride FP time, so we sat around watching the drum show... Best I can do it call it the drum show... Very energetic show... My dad enjoyed it... After the show the FP time was on hand...

This was the first time my father was on the ride... and HE LOVED IT... I do to honestly... While I do think FoP is probably one of the best rides on property, I feel like I cannot complete my Pandora experience without the river ride... After the ride, we went to see the wait time for FoP and found the ride down... At that point they were only taking FP, no stand by... I looked at the time on my phone and mentioned it was 6:30 and dinner was booked at 7:30... We tried to figure out if we wanted to do anything more but we didn't...

We exited Animal Kingdom and walked over to Rainforest Cafe, which is where I booked our dinner... I checked in some 45 minutes early... They didn't seem to mind... Plus, I booked for 4 and now we only had 2, which again was an easy modification at check in... For some reason the app wouldn't let me...

We waited maybe 5 minutes before they called my name... We were shown our seat and in a matter of minutes we placed out order.... We were done eating by 7:30, the time of my ADR... I laughed, my father thought it was great... No complaints from us... We hopped on the bus back to Saratoga Springs where we just kicked back and relaxed the rest of the night, knowing Thursday was going to be a busy and long day... Again, no complaints that we were back at the room an hour before we thought we would be..

Over all, another great and fun filled day... I just love Animal Kingdom, and I think I may spend extra time there in May rather than in DHS...

Day 5 - This is Halloween and I am the Pumpkin King coming up...
]]>Trip ReportsDizneyFreak2002http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?217756-Day-4-African-Safaris-Asian-Mountains-and-Alien-Moons